A Review of The World is Flat, A Brief History of the 21st Century by Thomas L. Friedman, copyright 2007

      The World is Flat is an easy-to-read and informative book. The title is clever, a metaphor for the leveling or elimination of some of the barriers to globalization. An explanation of the effects of certain forces on globalization’s growth, this book has implications for today's world, as of the date of this blog. The author covers his thesis, “the world is becoming flatter,” in three particular contexts: identification of the ten forces that flattened or are continuing to flatten the world; how societies, particularly the United States, businesses, organizations, and individuals are and will survive the flattening process; and a discussion on the constituencies, forces, and problems impeding the flattening process and how might we, as human beings, collaborate better to overcome them.

The Ten Forces

     The first, five of the ten flattening forces the author identifies provided the first thrusts to an increase in globalization. These five forces were 1) the fall of the Berlin wall and the rise of the Windows operating system – more people on the playing field and a system to help everyone play better; 2) a refinement of the worldwide Web and the development of internet browsers - the computer and connectivity became more useful for millions; 3) the development of standard software that enabled better workflow within organizations and between organizations; 4) the collaboration of freelance programmers and engineers in chat room-like settings to produce shared software (e.g. Linux operating system, freeware, wikipedia); 5) Outsourcing Y2K – the collaboration of America and India on digitizing data in fear of losing large amounts with the advent of the year 2000; after Y2K, outsourcing from America to India exploded and e-commerce grew.

     The last, five of the ten flattening forces the author identifies are situations that have taken the flattening process further. These last five forces are 1) Off shoring – China’s joining the WTO in 2001 gave a huge boost to producing in China and other countries the same products that were produced in America, only with cheaper labor, lower taxes, subsidized energy, and lower health-care costs; 2) Supply-Chaining: collaborating horizontally among suppliers, retailers, and customers to create value– example is the Wal-mart worldwide supply chain; 3) In sourcing – different from supply-chaining because it is “third party-managed logistics”; example is UPS’s work with clients to help them in synchronizing whole companies and their interactions with both customers and suppliers; 4) In-forming – search engine companies, such as Google and Yahoo!, enabled individuals to build and deploy their own personal supply chains, and become their own researcher, editor, and selector of entertainment in the privacy of their homes; and 5) the impact of digital, mobile, personal, and virtual gadgets that improve connectivity.

                                    Survival in the Flattening World

     To survive in the “flattening” world, the author points out western nations, particularly the U.S., will have to transform their infrastructure and education systems. He notes there is a “quiet crisis” in this country where pressing fiscal, energy, science, and educational shortfalls need to be addressed by “leaders with vision.” In education, he notes, there needs to be an emphasis in encouraging the studies of liberal arts along with engineering, chemistry, and other sciences. To survive the flattening process, tomorrow’s workers will need to be creative, well rounded individuals.

     Businesses and organizations that employ tomorrow’s creative, well rounded worker will cope with the flattening process “because society will offer an uninterrupted flow of ideas, diversity, concepts, and competitive edge.” Companies will have to act small locally – allowing the individual customer to serve themselves (e.g., E -Trade) but also "big" internationally. Small companies can be successful by being big locally and small internationally. In terms of character, the successful company will recognize the growing number of empowered customers and, so, will need to “out behave” the competition.

     Society will benefit from the flattened world; however, it will need to find or develop, what the author terms, “the new middle class.” This new class will include “the untouchables” and the “anchored,” those professionals who will be able to perform functions in ways that are so specialized they can never be outsourced or whose jobs are connected to a geographical location, i.e., researchers, doctors, nurses, waitresses, chefs, etc. In regards to addressing a potential brain drain, the author notes the U.S. needs a stronger and more supportive immigration system if it wants a national pool of people from which to hire.

         

     Developing countries will also need to improve infrastructure, education, and governance to develop a framework for innovation and collaboration. Many will need to emulate the U.S. and make tolerance the norm, because, as the author notes, when tolerance is the norm, trust is bred and trust is the foundation of innovation and entrepreneurship.

 Forces and Problems Impeding the Flattening process

     There is a large pool of potential talent in the world that will not be able to take part in or take advantage of the flattening process.  First, the author points out, there are many who are too sick or becoming sick (in undeveloped countries), and there will be too little time for them to receive help from reluctant or inadequate governments and from too few organizations and individuals to change the trend. Secondly, there are many who are disempowered –those who do not have the tools, skills, or infrastructure to participate meaningfully for any length of time. Thirdly, there will be an increased global struggle for natural resources resulting in “junking up, heating, and garbageing up, smoking up, and devouring up our little planet faster than at any time in history.” The author asks, “What will happen when three billion new entrants to the flat world start gobbling up all the resources? Species and ecosystems won’t be able to adapt fast enough.”

     The author devotes a fair amount of the last chapters to how modern day terrorism and war could tremendously affect the flattening of the world. With the close contact that has resulted from globalization, there are many people who feel threatened, frustrated, and even humiliated. “Terrorism, the author relates, is spawned by the poverty of dignity (not of money), and humiliation is the most underestimated force in international relations and in human relations.”  All out war or even the threat of a war would retard or stop the flattening process, altogether; however, the author notes, adversaries will be more inclined to think before they act. “Countries whose workers and industries are woven into a major global supply chain know that they cannot take an hour, a week, or a month off for war without disrupting industries and economies around the world and thereby risking the loss of their place in that supply chain for a long time.”

     The last chapters of The World is Flat undoubtedly have implications in today's world. For example, how long will the interruption in world commerce, brought about by Russia's meddling in Ukraine, continue? What real damage has this meddling and the subsequent international response caused? Has the meddling and the response retarded the "flattening process"? How long will it take the U.S., EU and Ukraine (and Russia) to recover once things return to the status quo?

     The World is Flat, although published in 2007, is indeed timely. The author sums up his work with an appeal to the continued promotion of imagination, innovation, and collaboration; these three, alone, may well enable the continued flattening of the world.